Ethics for data protection
If your work involves human participants, it’s essential to design your study in line with your discipline’s ethical standards and to comply with the GDPR.
Research ethics is about ensuring integrity, respect, and care for your participants throughout every stage of the research process. While these core values remain at the heart of ethical research, the rapid growth in the use and sharing of personal data has made privacy and data protection increasingly important.
Privacy as a fundamental right
Privacy is a fundamental human right (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 12). Scientific research could become an interference in people’s privacy if it is not conducted ethically.
In research, the right to privacy must be balanced with other ethical values, such as the freedom of information, and the objective to acquire knowledge that benefits society. While the GDPR protects individuals’ privacy, it also recognizes that strict compliance may sometimes obstruct research.
To address this, Article 89(1) allows limited exemptions for research purposes, as long as strong safeguards are in place. An ethics review is one of the key safeguards required before researchers can process personal data.
Ethics review as a safeguard for data protection
An ethics review helps ensure that personal data is collected and used responsibly, protecting the rights, dignity, and well-being of all participants. For most research projects involving personal data, an ethics review and thoughtful self-reflection are mandatory steps.
How to apply for an ethics review
How to apply for an ethics review
You can apply for an ethics review at the Research Ethics Committee of your faculty or institute. The DCC does not play a direct role in the review process. For more information, please consult the ethics committee pages of your faculty. Be aware that faculty requirements might differ.
Codes and guidance documents
Codes and guidance documents
In preparation for your ethics assessment, you can look into codes and guidance documents - both domain-specific and general - drafted by Dutch and European bodies to guide researchers in conducting their research responsibly.
Rules & codes of conduct
Ethical guidelines for research
Where to find ethics support
Where to find ethics support
The main responsibility for reflecting on ethical conduct during a research project lies with the Principal Investigator (PI) in collaboration with junior researchers, such as PhD candidates or students. They can find support in this ethical reflection with different roles in the organization:
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A data steward can review a data management plan and ask questions to help researchers reflect on how they are going to manage their data responsibly throughout the whole data life cycle.
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A privacy and security (P&S) coordinator can provide advice on how to best implement the principles of the GDPR, such as which legal ground to choose. They are also the contact point for setting up agreements with collaborators and third parties if personal data is processed.
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An ethics review committee evaluates the full project proposal based on relevant ethics codes, such as the Nethics Code, and their expertise in the research field, including its methodologies and common ethical issues.